The background of the invention will be set forth in two parts.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains generally to hand tools and more particularly to a new and useful hand tool especially designed for removing a movable member from a confined space adjacent a fixed member.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Removal of the upper arcuate main bearing shells from an engine block have been a problem.
It sometimes takes two men several minutes to remove these bearing shells. One man works the crankshaft while the other man takes a flexible thin tool, like a long feeler gauge, and taps the bearing shell around the bearing surface a little at a time. This flexible thin tool must be used in extremely cramped quarters, further adding to the problem.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,886,644 discloses an upper main bearing removal tool including a reciprocable member mountable on one of the stud bolts between the nut and the engine block. The reciprocable member has a pawl pivotably mounted thereon. The pawl extends toward the main bearing seat when the reciprocable member is mounted on the stud bolts and is biased away from the stud bolt. The tool also includes an arcuate member substantially similar to the main bearing shell. This arcuate member has ratchet teeth cut in its outer surface and is effective when placed against the crankshaft bearing surface with one end abutting the end of the main bearing shell nearest the pawl to engage the pawl with its ratchet teeth and push the main bearing shell out of the main bearing seat as the nut on the stud bolt is screwed alternately down and back.
One difficulty with this tool resides in the fact that it is time consuming to set the tool up initially. Another difficulty resides in the fact that it is also time consuming to alternately screw the nut on the stud bolt down and back.